FAQs

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Elpis Studio is not just another brand; we are creators and designers of eco-conscious products inspired by the harmony between people and nature in Chiang Mai, Thailand. We work with natural raw materials and transform them into urban clothing for an everyday eco-fashionable, vegan friendly use. At Elpis Studio we want to share our values and our principles by expressing them with our designs, and we want people to join us in the eco-fashion & Vegan Fashion movement. But, what do the terms mean? And what else can we tell you about us? Please find below our FAQ section, and hopefully you’ll find all the answers you are looking for. If you still have any questions, please contact us.

Understanding Eco-Fashion:

We want to start by introducing the main aspects of Eco-Fashion, which are also part of the values and principles that Elpis Studio stands for.

What is Eco-Fashion?

You might ask yourself if it’s clothes made from recycled materials? Products made from fair labor? Or clothes that don’t use any animal products?

Eco-Fashion is the production of clothing that focuses not only on the environment but also on the health of those working to produce them and those wearing the final products.

Basically, eco-fashion uses:

Raw materials such as cotton that do not involve any pesticides

Clothes made from recycled textiles and plastics

Clothes made without harmful chemicals, dyes or bleaches

No animal products involved (VEGAN)

Made under conditions where there is fair labor

What is Eco-Smart material?

This is another term that describes the materials we use to craft our products. Eco-Smart Materials to us means materials that has an innovative edge to them. ​The word smart can be in innovation, or in style. But in our dictionary it means they are both innovative and smart-looking!

What is natural dye?

Natural Dyes come from dye plants. Some well known like woad, weld, brazilwood or indigo, others come from mineral sources too. They are grown locally, and we use dyes from Thai organic farmers, that instead of using pesticides or other toxins.

Some customers have approached us wondering if natural dyes don’t last as long as synthetic ones, and that is not true. Natural dyes are as permanent as synthetic ones, they can last for centuries. The key lies in the preparation that requires time and patience, but we care and we can guarantee their durability.

Are we Environmentally Friendly and Pesticide Free?

Yes, we are, and it is one of the things we care the most about. Elpis Studio is all about Eco-Fashion and fighting for a better environment, a more sustainable way of viewing, living and breathing fashion. We work with only organic materials, pesticide and toxin free, and recycled materials.

All of that consumption of Fast-Fashion clothes has led to 11 million tons of textile waste per year, only in the US, according to Eco-Age studies.

Eco-Fashion instead tries to educate its customers and potential consumers, not because of the money, but because we want to change this world into a better one. Our customers are informed and don’t just buy an item to never wear it again, they do it because they care just as much as we do. We don’t want to contribute to one more ton of waste, we want to reduce it.

As to pesticides, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency in the USA), found that 7 out of the top 15 pesticides are “deemed likely of human carcinogens”, and at least 25% of all cotton is sprayed with top pesticides. Chances of getting bad chemicals in our skins are high.

Nonetheless, with eco-fashion we can avoid such risks. For us, designing and making garments that don’t include any pesticides in the production of the fabrics is not just about “trying to save the world”, it’s also about our health, our daily well-being, about wearing clothes that won’t harm our bodies.

How can you help?

We hope you now have a better idea of what Eco-Fashion is and what it represents. Now, we want to let you know how exactly you are helping or contributing when you buy an eco-fashion product; and not just our products but we ask you to support any businesses that promote eco concept and take environment into factor when selling their products.

Our mission

Elpis Studio works with local artisan producers, organic farmers and local workshops from Chiang Mai. These are communities that otherwise would have a hard time selling their fabrics or products, or even making enough money to develop themselves.

By buying one of our items, which you can take a look at here, you are directly contributing not only to fair labor, but also to better wages, community growth and development, and the education of the local children and teenagers that would otherwise have to work to help their families. One purchase can mean one more month of school for a seven-year old child.

We plant a tree for every product purchased

For every item that you buy from Elpis Studio, Seed The Change will plant a tree in your name. Seed The Change is an organization associated with e-commerce businesses, with the sole focus of making this world a better one.

They only work with social-good companies, and for every item we sell we donate a small amount of money to plant one more tree. Remember, Eco-Fashion is about being environmentally conscious, and what better way to contribute than by planting one more tree.

Fair Wages for all

As you read above, we only work with artisan producers, organic farmers, and local community workshops. Most of the professionals we work for would either sell cheaply to survive or work under bad conditions. At Elpis, we develop respectful and fair relationships with the people we work with. We pay them fair wages, which means the standard Thai wages required by law.

If you were to take a trip to Cambodia or Vietnam, you would be shocked. In those countries laborers from textile companies get paid, if lucky, $0.50 an hour, with no benefits of any sort. And that’s if lucky.

At Elpis Studio we want to fight that kind of abuse and help the communities grow and develop. That’s why we pay fair wages, and as a result if you buy from us, you fight poverty and contribute to local development.

Cruelty-free and Vegan

Eco-Fashion does not use any animal product. That goes from leathers, to furs and animal oils. This is one of our biggest no’s. We do not and will never use any animal product on any of our products. Reduce animal cruelty by buying from brands that actually care.

Why you should buy our products?

At Elpis Studio we are very strict and rigorous with our products, we might not make tons of products, but we don’t want to. We’d rather design and create pieces that truly reflect how we feel and what we stand for. That might take more time, more commitment, and more patience. As a result we create Eco-Fashion, Eco-Conscious products, Eco-Friendly items, take a look here.

Just to remind you:

Our leaf products are 100% biodegradable and only use non-toxic dye

Our bags are 100% free of animal product

Our clothes are made from sustainable cotton, grown and crafted locally.

We dye our clothes using non-toxic dye

We hope that this FAQ section has answered your doubts, questions or uncertainties. If you still have any other question, please send us an email or write us on the chat box on the lower right corner of the website. We are here to help and spread our values.